This 'Rocky Horror Show' is musical theater dynamite

Janet Weiss (Andrea Dennison-Laufer) and Brad Majors (JT Corzine) seek refuge in an old castle during a rainstorm, the setting for "The Rocky Horror Show." The musical by Richard O'Brien (book, music and lyrics) first opened in London in June, 1973, and soon became a cult classic.DAVID C. CARNEVALE

With its gothic setting, weirdos from Transylvania and send-up of horror and sci-fi films, “The Rocky Horror Show” is tailor-made for the period surrounding Halloween and the Day of the Dead.

That means at least one Orange County production in November of Richard O’Brien’s wonderfully eclectic, rock-’n’-roll-infused musical. This year, we recommend Theatre Out’s top-notch staging at its new home in downtown Santa Ana, mere blocks from its former residence at the Empire Theater.

Troupe co-founders Joey Baital and David C. Carnevale share the producing duties, with Carnevale as director and costume designer and Baital as scenic designer. Stephen Hulsey’s musical direction and Nicki Peek’s choreography are simply the icing on the cake for a supercharged yet wholly intimate version of the 1973 cult classic.

Theatre Out gets solid work in every department from its cast of 14. Audiences can expect satisfying comedic work where it’s needed as well as dynamic vocals of the show’s enjoyably diverse songs, with outstanding dance work to match.

As for audience participation, a hallmark of both stage and screen versions, no goody bags are distributed, so no items are on hand to be thrown at the cast, onto the stage or at other audience members (guidelines outlined in the print program). Yes, “Rocky Horror” diehards are encouraged to talk back and to dance along in their seats – both elements are a huge part of the fun of any “Rocky” staging – but happily, our focus is almost exclusively upon TO’s first-rate production.

By now, the storyline is familiar to most theater fans. In a rainstorm, while on their way to visiting their former science tutor, Brad Majors (JT Corzine) and Janet Weiss (Andrea Dennison-Laufer) get a flat tire and wind up walking to an old castle in search of a phone.

What they find instead is a collection of strange characters straight out of the schlocky horror films and muscle flicks of the 1950s, led by the cross-dressing, sexually voracious mad scientist Dr. Frank N. Furter (Andrew Villarreal).

The rest of the evening involves the young couple’s encounters with the castle’s out-of-this-world residents, including Rocky Horror (Ben Green), a muscle-bound hunk created in a laboratory by the doctor as his personal boy-toy.

Both stage and screen versions of “Rocky Horror” are creative mishmashes of transvestism and kinky sex, science-fiction and horror “B” movies, and ’50s rock spiced with playfully sexy songs and dialogue. Carnevale’s staging pushes the envelope, with much of the emphasis on physical comedy regarding gags related to sex.

Yet, Carnevale and Hulsey keep the focus on O’Brien’s now-classic songs, with the nine principals and five ensemble members (the latter billed as “The Phantoms”) delivering first-rate vocals. Peek’s slightly naughty choreography is consistently inventive. Most impressively, no one in the cast overacts, always a potential pitfall when playing satire.

Villarreal’s reading of Frank is so original it will make you forget the 1975 film’s Tim Curry – and any Franks you’ve seen in other stagings. “Eccentric” and “bizarre” only begin to describe the actor’s work. Villarreal delivers his line readings with hilariously eccentric inflections while lending touches of Gene Wilder-style looniness. He’s also a vocal dynamo in numbers like “Sweet Transvestite,” “I Can Make You a Man” and “I’m Going Home,” the latter song allowing him to emote without any traces of parody.

Dennison-Laufer is a perky, cheerful Janet. Corzine fulfills the role of the square Brad gracefully, eschewing the more common approach of klutziness. Nick McGee creates a slightly neurotic Riff Raff, a supportive yet servile second banana. Green’s speedo-clad Rocky is touchingly innocent and naïve, even while helping Janet unleash her pent-up desires. Choreographer Peek is a buxom, busty, outspoken Columbia, and Brandon Kasper is a suavely sinister, subtly knowing Narrator, cool yet affable and accessible.

The costumes aptly feature loads of black – leather, teddies, fishnet stockings, go-go boots and the like. The simple set, primarily using red velvet draped all across the upstage area, is effective, serving all of the script’s needs. Joy Chessmar-Bice’s lighting design gets the most out of banks of LEDs, while her use of strobes creates a brilliant slow-motion effect during the climactic death by anti-matter ray sequence.

The Act II song “Don’t Dream It – Be It” offers as hopeful and uplifting a message as any of the more saccharine numbers from other Broadway musicals. It’s a fine capper to a show that’s a paean to movies and rock music – and to the magic of believing in both.

Janet Weiss (Andrea Dennison-Laufer) and Brad Majors (JT Corzine) seek refuge in an old castle during a rainstorm, the setting for "The Rocky Horror Show." The musical by Richard O'Brien (book, music and lyrics) first opened in London in June, 1973, and soon became a cult classic. DAVID C. CARNEVALE
Dr. Frank N. Furter (Andrew Villarreal) is a sexually voracious, cross-dressing mad scientist from the planet Transexual in the galaxy of Transylvania who has made the earth his home - and has built an artificial muscleman, named Rocky Horror, for his own pleasure. STEPHEN RACK
Monitoring events at the castle on a viewscreen are Magenta (Chelsea Feller, left), Frank (Andrew Villarreal), Magenta's brother Riff Raff (Nick McGee) and Columbia (Nicki Peek). STEPHEN RACK
Eddie (J. Mel "Melvis" Jarnagin), a '50s-style greaser, is reunited with Columbia (Nicki Peek) in the musical number "Hot Patootie, Bless My Soul." Composed by Richard O'Brien, the 1973 show's songs run the gamut in terms of genre and style, with lyrics that have become ingrained to several generations of musical theater fans. STEPHEN RACK
Dr. Frank N. Furter (Andrew Villarreal) and Rocky (Ben Green) enjoy a mock wedding ceremony, flanked by Magenta (Chelsea Feller, left) and Riff Raff (Nick McGee). STEPHEN RACK
Clad identically in black teddies and high heels, Brad and Janet (JT Corzine, Andrea Dennison-Laufer) gently hold each others' battered frames during the musical number "Super Heroes." Theatre Out's staging of the 1970s cult classic runs through Nov. 23. DAVID C. CARNEVALE

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